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EverQuest II videos show off Freeport revisions and dungeon crafting
Are you a fan of EverQuest II who wants to know more about what's on the horizon for the game but who doesn't want to take the time to read anything? Admittedly, your presence on this site makes a distaste of reading rather unlikely, but even so, you're in luck today. There are two new viewos covering future developments for the game, with both of them embedded just after the cut so you can watch them at your leisure. The first (and far shorter) video covers the upcoming revisions to Freeport, showing off all of the changes coming to one of the game's most iconic cities. The second video is longer but also far meatier, covering the new Dungeon Maker system coming out with the Age of Discovery expansion. So head on past the break, settle in with a nice beverage, and enjoy a whole lot of information without having to scan a bunch of text.
Newest producer's letter for City of Heroes talks about updating old content
Pretty much every time the development team at Paragon Studios answers player questions, there's a question that comes up about updating older content in City of Heroes. And usually the answer is a pretty standard one, a promise that updates will be looked at but aren't on any sort of specific timetable. It's a bit generic as answers go -- but the newest producer's letter for the game goes into more detail about why content gets updated, why it doesn't necessarily get updated, and the fact that there will be updates to legacy content in the future. The usual rationale for fewer updates is the amount of work involved in updating this content, but the letter explains in more detail that it's not enough for content just to be old. In order to be ripe for a reworking, the task force or zone has to be underutilized to begin with, which gives a good reason for development to try to revitalize the content. City of Heroes players will be happy to note that the letter also promises revamps coming to the early leveling areas in the near future -- while it doesn't specify the details, more information will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
Difficulty sliders and grind reduction due for Champions Online
With additions like the melee review patch and the first adventure pack either out or coming on fast, the obvious question about Champions Online is also the simplest to ask: what now? The latest installment of Ask Cryptic certainly does answer the question; unfortunately, said response includes saying "no" to some things that players want. The addition of a base construction feature is a prime example and the biggest negative -- while it's acknowledged to be frequently requested, the development team apparently lacks the time to add it in a fashion that they find interesting. On the other hand, there are features which almost any player can welcome, such as the difficulty slider seen in Star Trek Online, currently slated for release along with the first adventure pack. There's also a promise that the development team will look into grinding as being the most "rewarding" activity in the game via adjusting drop rates and overall rewards. In the somewhat more mixed news category, the team plans to do another review of powers after the adventure pack goes live, although they're not yet certain which sets and mechanics will be undergoing examination. Read the full list of questions and answers at the official Champions Online site.
The Daily Grind: What would signal the development team was out of tricks?
If you play or played Magic: the Gathering, you've heard of the Power Nine: cards printed in the beginning of the game that were insanely broken. Cards so powerful that their presence is felt in the game to this day. Cards that, naturally, players would love to see reprinted. However, it's been pointed out that if they ever are reprinted, it would be using the biggest and most obvious idea that the game has. It would be something that would bring in a lot of old players, attract people, spark interest, and there would never be a way to top it. There are certainly things that reek of having the sense of a great trick that could only work once, something the players have long asked for but has always been avoided. World of Warcraft's reconstruction of the old world and Final Fantasy XI's expansion to the long-awaited Level 99 level cap both look that way to some players. What would convince you that the developers were cashing in on the one last thing that players have been waiting for? Would it be enough to bring you back, or would it signal to you that the game was dying?
Back to the drawing board for Warhammer Online's scenarios
When Warhammer Online promised to greatly streamline its scenario structure and remove several of its less popular ones with the upcoming patch 1.3.4, the response wasn't altogether positive. There was a definite concern that the game was trying to mitigate its difficult times by removing one of the most fun aspects it had, which sounds like a bad idea all around. However, the developers have clearly been paying attention -- after collecting additional feedback from players and receiving plenty of input from the test server, Andy Belford announced that the team was going "back to the whiteboard" for their plans on streamlining and removing scenarios. While Belford makes it clear that the ultimate goal is the same -- to remove the unused and disliked scenarios and move the lower-tier ones that are well-loved to greater accessibility -- he also says that the team was getting clear input that they'd gone too far in the wrong direction. No dates are set, but a revised scenario setup and mass stability test is planned to go live sometime next week, hopefully with a better lineup. Whether or not you're currently playing Warhammer Online, it's always good to see developers paying close attention to what the players want.
Potential character model revisions in Cataclysm
WoW's fifth anniversary and the interviews surrounding it have ended up providing us with some previously-unknown tidbits of information -- which is a good thing, especially when it comes to stuff we've been wanting to hear about for a long time. This particular tidbit comes from the Warcry network interview with J. Allen Brack and Samwise Didier about the game's anniversary, and it's about a subject near and dear to our constantly-complaining hearts: new character models. They might even be coming in Cataclysm. Says Brack: "Even though things would be better with new (character) models, we'd probably spark a lot of player outrage. So we've talked about giving players a choice between the classic models or the new ones, but it might not be something we want to take on at the same time as we remake Azeroth." That's pretty big news.
Nintendo reportedly planning another Modchip-busting revision
Even though there's no love lost between Sony and Nintendo fanboys, the two ancient rivals may soon have one thing in common: an ongoing battle with their respective deities over modding their precious consoles for homebrew. PSP owners are well aware of the epic back-and-forth struggle between hackers like Fanjita and Dark_Alex and the obviously-frustrated firmware programmers over at Sony, and now DigiTimes (they of the rather dubious Apple rumor track record, mind you) is reporting that Wii lovers may soon be faced with yet another round of modchip-nullifying hardware revisions from Nintendo. The good news is that -- as usual -- the altered circuit layout shouldn't thwart modders for more than a few weeks at most, even if Nintendo decides to move over to so-called ball grid array IC packaging according to "providers of Wii modification services in Taiwan." Still, if these rumors turn out to be true, it would seem that Nintendo is pretty committed to tripping up the Wiinjas and TeamCyclopses of the world, and making your choice of their wares just a little more difficult.
